The Gazette from Montreal, Quebec, Canada • 74

74 The GAZETTE, Montreal. Jan. 27. 1979 'Silent Partner' hit as top-notch thriller FILM TARE 'Movie Movie' is a doll darlings THE SILENT PARTNER Loews, Dorval and Monkland cinemas Diractod by Oaryl Ouko; oiacufw pro-ducw, Oarth Orabinaky; aoroonptay by Curtia Hanaon; original muatc by Oocar Potoraon; I mng Elliot Qould, Chriatoptior Ptummor, Susannah Yof and CaJma Lomaz. MOVIE MOVIE Westmount Square A Sir Lew Grwto Production; dtrocted by Stantoy Donon; screenplay by Larry Oalbar and Srwtdon Keller; music by Ralph Burnt and Buatar Davit; starring George C.

Scott, Trith van Devefe. Art Camay, Had Buttona, Eli Wallach, Barbara Harris, Barry Boatwicn, Harry Hamlin, Ann Rainkmg, Jocalyn Brando and Rabacca York. Kitty Simpson (Rebecca York) and Dick Cummings (Barry Bottwick) in 'Movie; Movie' By LOUELLA HOPPER Special to The Gazette Hello, you darling film fans, it's so good to be back, bringing the latest word from Tinseltown straight to you. And when it comes to the film Movie Movie, the word is delightful. It so good to see a movie that knows what entertainment is all about good, clean fun like we used to see when Jack Warner and that nice Mr.

Goldfish were still alive not like so much of the so-called 'hard-hitting' violence and dirt the studios shovel out today. (Remember what that poor Sen. McCarthy once told me in the MGM cafeteria: "A cynic is just a Commie who wants to be rich." Wasn't that the truth. .) Well, Movie Movie is something different. Director Stanley Donen (I remember him when he was still in flannels, directing Singin'in the Rain) has made two movies in one and they're both beautiful takeoffs on those terrific Grade-B films of the 1930s.

That's why The Gazette has asked me to come out of retirement and tell you all about it. wouldn't Hedda-the-Hat and that Parsons woman just eat their hearts out if they were still here, the poor dears. When heroes were good Believe me, darlings, this movie is a success because it stays so lovingly close to the real thing those innocent days when theatres were movie palaces, when Coke cost a nickel, when heroes were good and villains were worse, and when you got two complete features a night (oh, if only young ley could have added a The first feature in our show is called Dynamite Hands, and it's about young By DAVE CHENOWETH of The Gazette Canada has a movie triumph in Silent Partner, one of the best thrillers to hit the screen in years. This is not a film that indulges in the maple syrup syndrome: A pancake of pure Prairie wheat with an oh-so-sin-cere topping. Instead, Silent Partner is sometimes gory, sometimes sexy and completely gripping.

The fact that was named best movie at last fall's Canadian Film Awards in Toronto a totally deserved judgment pales beside a much more important kudo. The film has been running at Toronto theatres for over three months, and may well be a box office winner in the U.S. In Silent Partner, director Daryl Duke and screenplay writer Curtis Hanson have tackled a film genre that has not been handled with great success recently by the Hollywood big boys and have produced a gripping movie. The serious crime thriller is a decep- tively difficult type of movie to make. Too often it merely becomes a technical exercise in plotting will the caper succeed? whose twists leave little time to develop the characters as any-' thing other than caricatures or stereotypes.

Examples, in recent years include 'The Thomas Crown Affair or 11 Harrow House. At its best, the crime thriller offers a believable human drama and characters that are intrinsic to the tension of the situation. What made the movie Klute such a success was the human byplay between the cynical hooker stalked by a killer (Jane Fonda) and the unsophisticated country detective (Donald Sutherland) who must navigate the kinky backways of New York. In Wait Until Dark, it is Audrey Hepburn's blindness and her darkened-room battle against the killer that makes the conflict between innocent bystander and villain transcend a simple who's-got-the-heroin drama. Classic theme In S7eir Partner, we have such a classic human theme.

Elliot Gould plays an innocuous bank clerk, a lonely human zero whose hobby is collecting fish not friends. But one day he stumbles onto evidence that tlje bank is going to be robbed and the worm turns. Just before the holdup, Gould stuffs the bulk of his day's deposits in a briefcase. The thief escapes with a mere $4,000, but everyone thinks he's taken $30,000 the rest of the money is Gould's. Of course, the only other person in the know is the holdup man himself, an icy psychopath played with chilling ef- to be a musical-comedy writer.

There's also Kitty (Rebecca York), the sweet little hick who wants to be a star. She falls in love with Dick, only to lose him to Isobel who wants Kitty fired. But then it's opening night, and Isobel is dead drunk: Can they find Kitty to save the show. If you think you've heard it all before well, of course you have. That's the joy of Movie Movie, that as well as being a spoof it's also a loving tribute to a more-gilt-than-gold era.

This film really captures the feel of that Grade-B era, when every studio had dozens of stars under contract as well as hundreds of top-rate bit players. As a result, the same people kept popping up in film after film, and for economy's sake, the studio kept using the same studio-stages. Movie Movie does just the same, and does it well. This film has more than an all-star cast it has an all-pro cast of actors who know their craft, and bring a loving verve to capturing the old stereotypes. In addition to Scott and Devere who prove they can handle-straight-faced comedy as well as everything else they touch there are such old masters as Red Buttons (as the fight manager's grizzled trainer, and as the pro Joey Popchik (newcomer Harry Hamlin) who runs errands for his dad's deli.

One day he drops into a gym to deliver an order, and when the champ won't pay for his pastrami, Joey decks him with a single Sunday punch. Fight manager Gloves -Malloy (George C. Scott, that gruff old dear) wants him to turn pro fighter, but Joey's going to be a lawyer until he finds out his kid sister needs an eye operation in Vienna. So Joey enters the ring, only to fall into the hands of club manager Vince Marlowe (Eli Wallach), who gives him a chance to fight the champ but then tells him he's got to take a dive. What's Joey going to do? The second show is Baxter's Beauties of 1933, a tribute to the Great White Way, where there's a broken lightbulb for every heart (eat your heart out, Sheila Graham).

It's all about producer Spats Baxter, who finds out he's only got a month to live and he's got to produce a hit, so he can leave a bundle to his little daughter (whom he hasn't seen in years). Spats has got problems, however: His show star Isobel Stewart (played by Trish van Devere, who's Scott's real-life kissing-mate) is a drunk, and she doesn't like the script. But to the rescue comes Dick Cummings (Barry Bos-twick) a young accountant who wants ducer's grizzled stage manager); Eli Wallach (as the evil promoter, and as the old back-stage doorman); and Art Carney, in beautiful vignettes that open both films as the doctor who tells Joey's sister she is going blind, and as the doctor who tells George Scott he's going to die. As for the new, young players? Darlings, I must tell you that they're just as good and have as much fun as the old pros. Barry Bostwick does a real tour-de-force turnaround: First he's the tough gunman for the evil promoter, then he's more Dick Powell than Powell could ever be as the bright young man who wants to write musicals.

And Barbara Harris does a superb vamp as Troubles Malloy, the singer who leads young Joey the fighter away from his librarian sweetheart. I could just go on and on the music in Baxter's Beauties stands up on its own Marlon Brando's sister Jocelyn returns to the screen as Mama Popchik the film uses such grand old devices as spinning railroad wheels and flashing newspapers to change scenes. All that's left to be said is: If you love those old, hokey Hollywood films, then Mo We Movie is great great. Dave Chenoweth CELINE LOMEZ Montreal actress feet by Christopher Plummer. He wants the rest of the money, motivated as much by angered pride at being cheated by an amateur as by greed.

The rest of the film centres on the battle of wits and nerves between the killer and the little guy. Each threat by Plummer sees Gould summon resources of cunning, evolving from a ne-bish into the little guy triumphant. But under Daryl Duke's direction, Gould remains completely human, rather than heroic a true everyman who not only has the courage to seize that one opportunity, but is constantly surprised by his ability to draw on resources he never knew he had. Surrounding the main plot are suitable subplots that keep the film moving and leaven it with moments of humor and human appeal: Gould's efforts to attract the lovely loan officer (Susanah York), a kindred spirit frightened of loneliness and anonymity; the married bank manager, who is York's lover and who asks Gould to be her escort to his staff Christmas party; and some straight comedy involving a sexbomb teller and a grossly chubby assistant manager. But the real triumph of the movie is the battle between Gould and Plummer, a conflict that has moments of chair-gripping suspense handled by director and cast with true excellence.

Bloodbath A scene where Plummer confronts accomplice Celine Lomez who was sent to spy on Gould, but becomes his lover instead turns into a bloody meeting between callous evil and proud betrayal that climaxes in a bloodbath reminiscent of the famous Psycho murder scene. And rarely has true suspense been as well handled as in a scene where Gould must have the lock of a safety deposit box which contains the money changed, while the unsuspecting loans officer is out to lunch. Director Duke, who won a Canadian Film Award for his direction, handles the film in true Hitchcock style. The pacing is swift and sure, and moments of drama and character are heightened by paying attention to the details. Tear jerker uses cliches with taste ICE CASTLES Cote des Neiges and Atwater cinemas Produced by John Kwrwny; dirtctftd by Donald Wfyc tlory by Gary laim; acfaon.

play by Donald Wrya and Qary Baim; introducing Lynn-Holly Johnoon and starring Cot-laon Dowhurat, Hobby 8 an ton, Tom Skarhtt and Joonrfar Warron. newcomer Johnson is remarkably touching in her role demonstrating a talent that goes beyond the ice. Backing her up is a top rate performance by Colleen Dewhurst as Lexie's grizzled home town coach, as well as a nicely restrained portrayal of Lexie's farmer-father by Tom Skerrit (who played Leslie-Anne Brown's dad in Turning Point). This film won't appeal to the disco set or cynics, but it seemed to win the hearts of the teenage audience yesterday, as well as bringing a sniffle or two to older folk. For an evening of pleasant escapism, this film scores a winning 5.5.

nifer Warren) who offers to prepare her in record time for a stab at the Olympics. But just as Lexie is on the verge of success, she has an accident that leaves her nearly blind. She tries to run from the world, only to be convinced by her former boyfriend, her dad and her original coach to try to make it back to the ice. Along the way, the film looks at the grueling training for young ice stars, and throws in some romance between Lexie and a TV announcer who is helping Warren promote the girl to stardom. The skating scenes are lovely, and By DAVE CHENOWETH of The Gazette It's traditional to toss roses to the ice after a strong performance by a figure skater and so, let's offer a flowery bouquet to the film Ice Castles.

This is an oldfashioned, unadulterated tear-jerker, but just like a skater's routine it glides gently across the screen, touching you with romance and moments of drama. It's all illusion, of course, a deliberate plucking at every soap opera cliche but it's done with a taste and style that leaves it hovering pleasantly between a Harlequin ro- mance and the film The Turning Point. The movie is about lfc-year-old Lexie (former Ice Capades star Lynn-Holly Johnson), a rural girl who wins a local skating competition. She attracts the attention of a big-league coach (Jen More reviews on Page 82 unaiupi ny 1 Superstar Carole Laure still riding high JF -2 1 The stunning Carole Laure who is still riding high on American critical acclaim of her film Take Out Your Hand- mn.mrw kerchiefs has been invited to the Big Apple for a round of TJrJjJ radio and television interviews. By Thomas Schnurmacher wMgaHM0" it It couldn't have happened to a finer lady.

Carole is one of the few superstars in the Canadian film world. With her co-host Claude Brasseur, she threw a fun party for the cast and crew of her current film, fiye, See You Monday. The private party was held at Night Magic in Old Montreal in the backroom with filmmaker Alex Dukay playing the bouncer. Lewis Furey is looking forward to leaving for Paris once his latest album is released. The multi-talented Furey will be appearing with Carole at the Bobino Music Hall in Paris this Spring.

Claude Brasseur and actress Miou-Miou talked shop with Robert Chariebois. David Birney, star of the TV series Bridget Loves Bernie is also in the movie, but felt too tired even when Carole asked him to dance. Carole also asked me to dance. Of course I accepted immediately. I never play hard to RICH LITTLE Ratings high MARILYN MONROE Film festival with the Art Montreal show on cable television should call Vehicule Art at New York saxaphone player Bob Mover backed by the Steve Holt Quartet will perform nightly until Jan.

30 at L'air du Temps, the art deco boite located at 191 St Paul Street. Mover's performance will be recorded live from L'Air du Temps for the CBC jazz catalogue. It will also be broadcast live by satellite into Africa via Radio-Canada International. Upcoming attractions at the club include Yasib Abdulel Camir, the Bug Alley Band. Jacques Labelle and his quartet and Charlie Biddies.

On Feb. 6 and 7 chanteuse Johane De-forges will sing some hits from the golden days of Hollywood during the 1930s and The Stephen Barry Band will indeed be recording an album. They will do the honors on Feb. 4 at the Iroquois Hotel at Place Jacques Cartier in Old Katharine Hepburn and Greta Garbo were seen crossing the street at 49th Street and Second Avenue in New York. No, they weren't walking together and they didn't even notice one If you're wondering about something different to do on those impossible Monday nights, the El Casino Club at 316 Ste.

Catherine Street West is offering salsa music every Monday The musical Cabaret is being presented by the University Players at the Royal Tyler Theatre at the University of Vermont in Burlington until Jan. 30... John Travolta is very depressed over the death of his mother and is spending considerable time at a Los Angeles hospital where father Salvatore Travolta is in intensive care after suffering a heart attack. Some Hollywood sources say that Travolta was so disappointed when he saw the completed version of Moment by Moment that he even offered to do another movie free of charge if the producers would agree to shelve Moment by Moment. No And I leave you with Joan Rivers's New Year's resolution.

Joan says, 'My resolution for 1979 is to make love 352 times this year." "My husband said, 'Great. Put me down for two'." Have a good fat II1 4- i bat. both the high audience rating and positive critical response. He has wisely signed Rich Little to do another special for CBC later this season. Al Waxman's Circus International special on Christmas day drew 1.6 million The Cinema on Sherbrooke Street West launches a mini-Marilyn Monroe film festival on Feb.

8 and continuing through the month of March. Admission prices at the Cinema will go up from $1.75 per film to $1.99 as of the first of April. Speaking of the repertory cinemas, the Outremont Theatre on Bernard St. West will be showing 94 minutes of the best international television commercials totally uninterrupted by programming of any kind. Feb.

4-8 and Feb. 11-12. Admission is $2.00 per George Antiglio has left CBS records and gone on to greener pastures in Toronto. George will be sorely missed by his many friends in town, but best wishes to Alex Patterson who will be in charge of Montreal Movie Makers, a group devoted to the interests of amateur cincmatographers will be meeting Feb. 7 at the National FUm Board, theatre No.8 at 8 p.m.

They will screen the Song Contest films produced by the members. Admission and parking are Various radio personalities including CFCF's Jimmy Tapp and CJFM's Dean Hagopian are slated to drop by the Valentine's Day festivities at Disco Charley on Feb. 14... 'Club 406', the restaurant in the Musicians' Guild Building on de Maisonneuve East has re-opensd under new management. How do I know? A little bird who is a member cf the union told Artists and researchers who still wish to get involved if) Party pooper Film producer Harry Gulkin was livid that I had given away the surprise ending to his next film The Incredible Mrs.

Chadwick. I'm dreadfully sorry, Harry. Will all the people who read the ending please be kind enough to forget it immediately. Earl Devine who is the chairman of the board for the Westend Sports Association has done an excellent job recruiting honorary members for his board of directors. The celebrities that he has lined up so far include Rex Reed, Frank Gifford and Marv Levy, head coach of the Kansas City Rich Little success According to the latest Neilsen ratings, the Rich Little special on CBC gained an audience rating of 3.02 million, viewers.

That figure ranked it just behind Three's Company and Happy Days. Little even managed to draw a considerably larger audience than the near-sacred Hockey Night in Canada. TV Variety head Jack McAndrew was delighted with 7 if JOAN RIVERS Sex resolution AL WAXMAN Large audience.